From a Stadium Lost to Gangs
Haiti Returns to the World Cup After 52 Years

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On June 11, the 2026 FIFA World Cup opens, and Haiti is on the entry list for the first time since the 1974 tournament in West Germany, 52 years ago. The road to get here is not a football story alone.

A team without a home

Haiti played every qualifying match outside the country. The national stadium in the capital, Port-au-Prince, was effectively in the hands of armed gangs, so hosting international fixtures was out of the question. Moving between Curaçao and other neutral venues, the team finished first in CONCACAF's final-round Group C with three wins, two draws and one loss. They booked their ticket by beating Costa Rica and Nicaragua back to back.

Grenadiers of the diaspora

Many of the players on the roster, announced on May 16, are second- and third-generation members of the Haitian diaspora playing for clubs in North America and Europe. With playing at home so dangerous, the squad was assembled from those who could still wear the Haiti shirt from abroad. Under French coach Marc Collat, appointed in June 2024, the team climbed to become one of CONCACAF's biggest surprises.

Haiti is the only Caribbean nation to reach the World Cup more than once. This appearance, its first since 1974, is also a return from one of the longest World Cup absences any single team has endured.

The distance between celebration and reality

The opener against Scotland, set for June 13, will be the first 90 minutes on a stage Haiti has not reached in 52 years. Back home in Port-au-Prince, armed groups still control much of the city. The UN-backed Multinational Security Support mission (MSS) is deployed, but calm is a long way off. The national team will walk onto the world stage carrying a people who cannot cheer it from the stands. Haitians will take in the weight of that from wherever they stand.

The capital's stadium is still in the gangs' hands. Even so, Haiti's team reached the world stage, where the stands hold none of its own people.

※ This article is the author’s commentary based on public information. Please confirm the latest figures, dates and procedures with governments and primary sources. Quotations are kept minimal and sources are cited.